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Imara Tech Multi-Crop Thresher

Elliot Avila

Imara Tech Multi-Crop Thresher is used to thresh crops such as rice, maize, wheat, sorghum and barley more quickly than traditional methods.

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Snapshot

Manufacturing & delivery

Performance & use

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Product description Brand name and product description

Imara Tech has developed an engine-powered Multi-crop thresher (MCT), a machine that can thresh the crops most common in the developing world (rice, maize, wheat, sorghum, barley). Their MCT improves upon traditional methods by eliminating the need for toilsome labor and greatly decreasing the time required to thresh from three hours to just ten minutes per sack of rice. The MCT is designed as an axial flow thresher. Un-threshed grains are tossed into the entry chute and enter a chamber where a rotating drum beats, squeezes, tumbles, and pushes the grain to separate it from the stalk. Large pieces of chaff are propelled through the machine and expelled at the end, while threshed grain and smaller pieces of chaff fall into the lower section of the machine. These smaller pieces of chaff are removed by a blower, leaving clean grain to be collected by the user.

Target region(s) Target region for distribution/implementation (listed by country if specified)

MCT is to be sold at ~$700 USD. The designers propose a rental model for the unit as a shared resource, whereby farmers buy and then offer the product as an affordable service to the rest of their community. The company further wishes to offer product loans.

Competitive landscape Similar products available on the market. May not be a comprehensive listing.

The Multi-Crop Thresher will be produced at several workshop locations in Tanzania. It can be built with locally-sourced parts and fabricated manually with use of the following equipment: welding machine, hand tools, drill press, lathe

User Provision Model Where can the product be purchased/acquired by end users?

Imara Tech aims to make business-to-business sales to partner organizations specializing in last-mile distribution and sales in rural areas. The product is also aimed at entrepreneurs as an additional source of income. Users will be able to purchase MCTs at the fabrication workshops which will also act as service centers for machine repairs, showrooms, office space and storage areas.

Distribution to date Number of units that have been deployed, downloads or users to date

Because the MCT’s testing periods are limited to the harvest season, which typically runs for a couple of months between late May and August, currently they do not have any active users. They plan to make first sales in May and then will have 15 MCTs being used and monitored in the field.

Fields marked are sourced values that have been evaluated by the manufacturer or a third party, all others are design specifications.

The Multi-Crop Thresher (MCT) is a throw-in type thresher. This means that crops are fed into the machine from the top. Once they enter the threshing chamber, a rotating drum beats the grains off of the stalks. Large chaff passes through to the exit of the chamber and expelled from the machine, while threshed grain falls through a sieve-like structure called a concave. A fan blows dust and small chaff from the threshed grain, which then leaves the machine through an exit chute to be collected in bags.

The MCT is made from sheet metal, mild steel, nuts/bolts, welding rods and PPE.

The MCT is designed for portability in the field and around rural settings, it is equipped with two wheels. It also has an indented seat so that it easily fits onto the back of a motorcycle rack.

Product schematics Design and assembly illustrations

The crops that are poured into the machine enter a chamber where a rotating drum, powered by a small 6.5 HP petrol engine, beats the grain until it is removed from the stalks. The threshed crops are propelled axially through the machine until they are expelled, whereas the threshed grain and chaff fall below into another chamber, where a blower removes the chaffe.

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Snapshot

Product description Brand name and product description

Imara Tech has developed an engine-powered Multi-crop thresher (MCT), a machine that can thresh the crops most common in the developing world (rice, maize, wheat, sorghum, barley). Their MCT improves upon traditional methods by eliminating the need for toilsome labor and greatly decreasing the time required to thresh from three hours to just ten minutes per sack of rice. The MCT is designed as an axial flow thresher. Un-threshed grains are tossed into the entry chute and enter a chamber where a rotating drum beats, squeezes, tumbles, and pushes the grain to separate it from the stalk. Large pieces of chaff are propelled through the machine and expelled at the end, while threshed grain and smaller pieces of chaff fall into the lower section of the machine. These smaller pieces of chaff are removed by a blower, leaving clean grain to be collected by the user.

Target region(s) Target region for distribution/implementation (listed by country if specified)

MCT is to be sold at ~$700 USD. The designers propose a rental model for the unit as a shared resource, whereby farmers buy and then offer the product as an affordable service to the rest of their community. The company further wishes to offer product loans.

Competitive landscape Similar products available on the market. May not be a comprehensive listing.

The Multi-Crop Thresher will be produced at several workshop locations in Tanzania. It can be built with locally-sourced parts and fabricated manually with use of the following equipment: welding machine, hand tools, drill press, lathe

User Provision Model Where can the product be purchased/acquired by end users?

Imara Tech aims to make business-to-business sales to partner organizations specializing in last-mile distribution and sales in rural areas. The product is also aimed at entrepreneurs as an additional source of income. Users will be able to purchase MCTs at the fabrication workshops which will also act as service centers for machine repairs, showrooms, office space and storage areas.

Distribution to date Number of units that have been deployed, downloads or users to date

Because the MCT’s testing periods are limited to the harvest season, which typically runs for a couple of months between late May and August, currently they do not have any active users. They plan to make first sales in May and then will have 15 MCTs being used and monitored in the field.

Performance & use

Fields marked are sourced values that have been evaluated by the manufacturer or a third party, all others are design specifications.

The Multi-Crop Thresher (MCT) is a throw-in type thresher. This means that crops are fed into the machine from the top. Once they enter the threshing chamber, a rotating drum beats the grains off of the stalks. Large chaff passes through to the exit of the chamber and expelled from the machine, while threshed grain falls through a sieve-like structure called a concave. A fan blows dust and small chaff from the threshed grain, which then leaves the machine through an exit chute to be collected in bags.

The MCT is made from sheet metal, mild steel, nuts/bolts, welding rods and PPE.

The MCT is designed for portability in the field and around rural settings, it is equipped with two wheels. It also has an indented seat so that it easily fits onto the back of a motorcycle rack.

Product schematics Design and assembly illustrations

The crops that are poured into the machine enter a chamber where a rotating drum, powered by a small 6.5 HP petrol engine, beats the grain until it is removed from the stalks. The threshed crops are propelled axially through the machine until they are expelled, whereas the threshed grain and chaff fall below into another chamber, where a blower removes the chaffe.